The newly minted Fillmore at the Theatre of the Living Arts, or the TLA with 1000% more chandeliers, played host to an indie show of righteous proportions, courtesy of Scotland’s Camera Obscura Aug. 22. With tour support from The Swimmers and Last Town Chorus, the bill proved to be eclectically delicious.
Now, I do not doubt that The Swimmers opened the show. Camera Obscura mentioned them playing, and I tend to believe well-behaved Celts. It’s all in the accent, you see. However, when I arrived at the venue 8:10 p.m., 10 minutes after the show’s listed 8 p.m. start time, I did not see any aquatically-named indie pop types on stage. Based on what I’m streaming online right now, I can only assume that I missed out on some silky smooth, New Pornographer-y melodies from this local quartet. So it goes.
But while fate condemned me to miss The Swimmers, it did compensate by delivering on to me a thoroughly impressive set from Last Town Chorus, aka Megan Hickey and her electric lap steel guitar. Spaced out and glorious, Hickey and her touring pianist and guitarist created fuzzy pop gems. The sound was like a bluegrass version of shoegaze, save for the plaintive twang of Hickey’s voice that rose above the mix.
Hickey received some hoots from the crowd for her cover of David Bowie’s “Modern Love.” Soft and subtle, it’s a solid cover that gives the song a new dimension. Later, “It’s Not Over,” off of Last Town Chorus’ new album, Wire Waltz, also made an impression. Despite nicking the solo from Prince’s “Purple Rain,” the tune’s tones leave the hair on one’s arm raised, so great are the moods Hickey can tap into. She’s like the country version of My Bloody Valentine or something.
Following an insufferable half hour of stage preparation, Camera Obscura emerged to joyous calls and began plowing through tracks from the band’s finest album, Let’s Get Out of This Country. Eloquent indie pop at its finest, songs like “Come Back Margaret,” “Lloyd, I’m Ready to be Heartbroken” and the title track had the audience dancing and swaying along almost immediately.
The entire band was not in attendance, however, as drummer Lee Thomson was stuck back in Glasgow. A touring drummer, also named Lee, was with Camera Obscura that night, which is perhaps why the band stayed mostly with new material. That’s not a complaint, though, as the album is 39 minutes of perfection. Numbers like “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” and set closer “Razzle Dazzle Rose” enchanted fans, thanks to frontwoman Traceyanne Campbell’s voice. Soft and placid, it hypnotized many a fan that night.
The easygoing nature of Camera Obscura’s tunes made the band’s hour-long set feel like but a few brief ripples in a pond, but a quick glance at the clock proved that the band had indeed been at it for a while. With a quick encore which featured a cover of Sonny and Cher’s “Baby Don’t Go,” which blended in seamlessly with the band’s original material, these polite, talented, cheesesteak-loving Scots (“It tasted better than it looked,” Campbell said), walked off to rapturous applause.
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